A Fort Carson deserter who holed up in Canada for nearly three years was sentenced to prison today after a military court hearing that the defense tried to turn into an indictment of the Iraq war.

Pfc. Robin Long, who fled rather than reporting for duty at Fort Carson in 2005 told court-martial judge Col. Debra Boudreau that he left the country because of moral objections to what he termed an "illegal war." The judge came back with a 15-month sentence after prosecutors argued that Long "abandoned his duty, his honor and his country."

Long joined the Army in 2003, after the Iraq invasion, and was assigned to Fort Carson in early 2005, but never arrived at the post. Instead the 24-year-old first hid in his hometown of Boise, Idaho, before heading north to seek refugee status from Canadian authorities in a bid to avoid a possible deployment to Iraq.

The Canadians turned back Long's last appeal in July and sent him back to the United States, where he was taken into custody by the Army on July 15 at the border in Washington state.

:)

He should have gotten 15 years.

Sonnabend

08-23-2008, 12:04 PM

Desertion of his post in time of war.

Firing squad.

Eyelids

08-23-2008, 12:25 PM

Desertion of his post in time of war.

Firing squad.

Talk about overreaction holy wow.

Zathras

08-23-2008, 12:32 PM

Talk about overreaction holy wow.

Talk about violation of the UCMJ that calls for execution for desertion in time of war.

Zeus

08-23-2008, 12:37 PM

Talk about violation of the UCMJ that calls for execution for desertion in time of war.

On Jan. 31, 1945, Hamtramck-born Eddie Slovik was executed by firing a squad near the village of Ste-Marie aux Mines for the crime of desertion. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme allied commander, personally ordered the execution during the closing days of World War II in order to deter other potential deserters.

During World War II, 21,049 American military personel were convicted of desertion, 49 were sentenced to death, but only Pvt. Slovik paid the ultimate price. In fact, he was the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War.
...............

Teetop

08-23-2008, 12:43 PM

Talk about overreaction holy wow.

Talk about dense...

Eyelids

08-23-2008, 12:57 PM

You cant kill somebody for a non-violent crime, this isn't the middle ages.

Phillygirl

08-23-2008, 12:59 PM

You cant kill somebody for a non-violent crime, this isn't the middle ages.

Yes you can.

gator

08-23-2008, 12:59 PM

Talk about violation of the UCMJ that calls for execution for desertion in time of war.

It is not "in the time of war". War was never declared.

Eyelids

08-23-2008, 01:00 PM

It is not "in the time of war". War was never declared.

We are at war with Iraq and Afghanistan... the definition of war does not hinge on what the U.S. thinks it is.

asdf2231

08-23-2008, 01:05 PM

You cant kill somebody for a non-violent crime, this isn't the middle ages.

Many enemy combatants will likely be held in custody while the WOT continues or Obama is elected, whichever comes first. Confinement for as long as other soldiers are fighting the battle seems reasonable. OK, add 10 years on the backside for good measure.

Zathras

08-23-2008, 01:18 PM

You cant kill somebody for a non-violent crime, this isn't the middle ages.

Yes you can as the UCMJ states:

ART. 85. DESERTION
(a) Any member of the armed forces who--
(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or
(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another on of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States; is guilty of desertion.
(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.
(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

You said:

We are at war with Iraq and Afghanistan.

So evidently you agree that he can be executed for this.

asdf2231

08-23-2008, 01:22 PM

It is not "in the time of war". War was never declared.

Desertion to avoid combat is the same thing.

The notion that there has to be a formal declaration was settled when soldiers were tried for offences during Vietnam and Korea where there were not formal declarations either.

lacarnut

08-23-2008, 01:32 PM

Desertion to avoid combat is the same thing.

The notion that there has to be a formal declaration was settled when soldiers were tried for offences during Vietnam and Korea where there were not formal declarations either.

This pathetic shitbag is going to get his ass whipped on a regular basis. Big difference between an Army stockade and a state prison.

Goldwater

08-23-2008, 02:07 PM

Desertion to avoid combat is the same thing.

The notion that there has to be a formal declaration was settled when soldiers were tried for offences during Vietnam and Korea where there were not formal declarations either.

All that means is, if they defy the constitution once and get away with it, that part of the constitution is now nullified.

asdf2231

08-23-2008, 02:20 PM

All that means is, if they defy the constitution once and get away with it, that part of the constitution is now nullified.

What it means is that it was settled by appeals courts as an established point of law.

Get a grip and buy a clue.

gator

08-23-2008, 02:24 PM

Desertion to avoid combat is the same thing.

I don't think so.

I think the death penalty for desertion only is applicable if it is a declared war because of the phrase "during time of war". There is only one way to enter into a "time of war" and that is through the declaration by the Representatives of the people, according to the Constitution. The Commander in Chief can authorized deployment of troops and Congress can fund it but that is not the same legal status as a declaration of war.

You can be punished for desertion under the UCMJ for but only put to death if it is a declared war.

c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
Congress never declared war.

The Constitution of the United States prescribes that Congress declare war, if needed. They didn’t think it was needed in Iraq for some reason or another.

FlaGator

08-23-2008, 02:31 PM

The death penalty seems very harsh for desertion when the deserter was not in the theater of combat and never directly put any other soldier's life at risk by his cowardice. In this case I think an execution could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

asdf2231

08-23-2008, 02:32 PM

I don't think so.

I think the death penalty for desertion only is applicable if it is a declared war because of the phrase "during time of war". There is only one way to enter into a "time of war" and that is through the declaration by the Representatives of the people. The Commander in Chief can authorized deployment of troops and Congress can fund it but that is not the same legal status as a declaration of war.

You can be punished for desertion under the UCMJ for but only put to death if it is a declared war.

Congress never declared war.

The Constitution of the United States prescribes that Congress declare war, if needed. They didnít think it was needed in Iraq for some reason or another.

You are correct.

I was wrong on that point.

gator

08-23-2008, 02:35 PM

You are correct.

I was wrong on that point.

It is a legal point but it doesn't excuse the fact that the ashole is a scumbag. He will probably get his ass kicked on a daily basis in a military prison by soldiers wearing combat patches.

asdf2231

08-23-2008, 02:38 PM

It is a legal point but it doesn't excuse the fact that the ashole is a scumbag. He will probably get his ass kicked on a daily basis in a military prison by soldiers wearing combat patches.

Yea Verily.

I was tickled to see that they recently decided to go for the death penalty for that murdering scumbag soldier recently.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50670

Speedy

08-23-2008, 03:40 PM

This pathetic shitbag is going to get his ass whipped on a regular basis. Big difference between an Army stockade and a state prison.

I did two months at the 8th Army Military Disciplinary Facility at Camp Humphries in Korea. Think Ranger or SEAL training without the swamp or beach and without weapons. PT Morning noon and night. I had a PT test a few days after I returned to my unit. Best PT score I ever got. The MPs at the stockade whipped me into that kind of shape.

You think the attention to detail and adherance to discipline is tough in Boot Camp. It is nothing compared to what is expected, no, DEMANDED of you in a military prison. The cleanliness is up to surgical room standards and uniformnity is almost to an insane level.

This piece of shit thought it was going to be rough in Iraq, wait until he gets to Ft. Lewis or Fort Leavenworth.

Speedy

08-23-2008, 03:44 PM

It is a legal point but it doesn't excuse the fact that the ashole is a scumbag. He will probably get his ass kicked on a daily basis in a military prison by soldiers wearing combat patches.

He may get his ass kicked, but the soldiers won't be wearing combat patches. The only things on your uniform are your name and US Army tags. All rank, patches and qualifying insignia (Jump Wings, CIB, Pathfinder, Air Assault, Combat Patches) are all removed. The only distinction between soldiers is that officer prisoners are segregated from enlisted prisoners.

Zeus

08-23-2008, 03:47 PM

The Military doesn't run prisons anymore. They turned them over to the Feds or are in the process of doing so.

Correction: The Military still runs their 3 military systems. The Idea of turning the job over to the federal Bureau of Prisons has been & is being considered.

lacarnut

08-23-2008, 04:59 PM

I did two months at the 8th Army Military Disciplinary Facility at Camp Humphries in Korea. Think Ranger or SEAL training without the swamp or beach and without weapons. PT Morning noon and night. I had a PT test a few days after I returned to my unit. Best PT score I ever got. The MPs at the stockade whipped me into that kind of shape.

You think the attention to detail and adherance to discipline is tough in Boot Camp. It is nothing compared to what is expected, no, DEMANDED of you in a military prison. The cleanliness is up to surgical room standards and uniformnity is almost to an insane level.

This piece of shit thought it was going to be rough in Iraq, wait until he gets to Ft. Lewis or Fort Leavenworth.

My brother was an MP at Fort Gordon GA. They practiced hand to hand combat, judo and PT and guarded the prisoners at the stockade. Just for kicks, he would box all comers in the prison. Before I went to Germany, I watched those guys train. Was not my cup of tea for sure.

This little mousy antsy pantsy prick does not know what he is in for. Deserters would be about as accepting in the stockade in my opinion.

Speedy

08-23-2008, 05:15 PM

My brother was an MP at Fort Gordon GA. They practiced hand to hand combat, judo and PT and guarded the prisoners at the stockade. Just for kicks, he would box all comers in the prison. Before I went to Germany, I watched those guys train. Was not my cup of tea for sure.

This little mousy antsy pantsy prick does not know what he is in for. Deserters would be about as accepting in the stockade in my opinion.

He will not be loved by the inmates either. Contrary to what you may think, most of the inmates do not have any ill toward the army. They are there for what one may call "extra curricular activities" not because they did anything against the army. Many of them (I was one) still have a great love for and great pride in their service.

A Fort Carson deserter who holed up in Canada for nearly three years was sentenced to prison today after a military court hearing that the defense tried to turn into an indictment of the Iraq war.

Pfc. Robin Long, who fled rather than reporting for duty at Fort Carson in 2005 told court-martial judge Col. Debra Boudreau that he left the country because of moral objections to what he termed an "illegal war." The judge came back with a 15-month sentence after prosecutors argued that Long "abandoned his duty, his honor and his country."

Long joined the Army in 2003, after the Iraq invasion, and was assigned to Fort Carson in early 2005, but never arrived at the post. Instead the 24-year-old first hid in his hometown of Boise, Idaho, before heading north to seek refugee status from Canadian authorities in a bid to avoid a possible deployment to Iraq.

The Canadians turned back Long's last appeal in July and sent him back to the United States, where he was taken into custody by the Army on July 15 at the border in Washington state.

:)

He should have gotten 15 years.

Yep. He got off easy, the coward.

lacarnut

08-23-2008, 06:24 PM

He will not be loved by the inmates either. Contrary to what you may think, most of the inmates do not have any ill toward the army. They are there for what one may call "extra curricular activities" not because they did anything against the army. Many of them (I was one) still have a great love for and great pride in their service.

I know all about those extra curricular activities. Them women folks will make a soldier do some stupid things like missing bed check and/or going AWOL. I came close to going to the stockade also.

This asshole will get his share of beating by the inmates. The good part is that all the whining you can do in a state prison will do you no good in a military stockade.